Workers from the BJP and Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march organized by the BJP against the use of abusive language towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother. The protest turned violent, with stone pelting and vandalism reported. Police intervened to control the situation, and an investigation is underway.
Torrential rains pounded the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim and the tea growing region of North Bengal, causing landslides that cut off National Highway-10, the main road linking Gangtok with the rest of the country.
While the Trinamool government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, tried its best to attract investors, including from Singapore, not much headway could be made.
Fissures appear to have emerged in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as its two key allies, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, on Thursday clashed over seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal.
The CM also accused the Modi government and the BJP of trying to disturb peace.
After big win in Bihar, the BJP is likely to push harder in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK government and the uneasy BJP-AIADMK alliance are preparing for a tense election filled with seat-sharing fights, changing alliances, and the unpredictable entry of Vijay's TVK party, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The RSS which catapulted Jagdeep Dhankar to national prominence after 21 years of hibernation could not come to his rescue when BJP higher ups decided to seek his resignation, points out Prakash Bhandari.
Her statement came after a controversy broke out that TMC MP Yusuf Pathan was forced to opt out of the multi-party diplomatic delegation.
Gandhi alleged the increase in railway accidents in the last 10 years is a "direct result of the mismanagement and negligence of the Modi government, which has resulted in loss of lives and property of passengers on a daily basis".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the TMC, accusing them of prioritizing vote-bank politics over national security and Bengali identity by promoting infiltration. He also highlighted the BJP's vision for a developed and prosperous Bengal, promising a clean break from the past.
The West Bengal Congress unit issued a denial and said the state president meant "TMC and BJP are just the opposite sides of the same coin as both are venomous and spread lies".
'He's a hypocrite because he's the one who said that India, when he was not the coach of Team India, said that India and Pakistan should never play a match between them.'
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) distanced itself from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Friday, saying it is not part of the opposition alliance anymore and questioning the Congress party's role in leading it.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
The feisty TMC boss also accused the CPI-M of ruining her party's relationship with the Congress, its ally in the Opposition bloc INDIA at the national level.
The West Bengal state government has delayed project approvals. And now, the IT giants may look at other states as the centre is thinking of giving sops to SEZs
The National Democratic Alliance was set to sweep the Bihar assembly polls, surging ahead in over 200 of 243 seats on Friday with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as single largest party with about 90 per cent strike rate, reaffirming the popularity and campaign clout of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the face of the ruling alliance through the poll battle in the highly sensitive political state.
In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider the separate pleas of opposition-ruled Kerala and West Bengal, alleging the denial of assent to bills passed by the respective legislative assemblies.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has set an ambitious goal of winning over 215 seats in the 2026 state assembly elections, aiming to secure a fourth consecutive term for the Trinamool Congress (TMC). She declared that the party will work to significantly reduce the BJP's tally and ensure that their candidates struggle to retain their deposits. The TMC's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, echoed this sentiment, urging party workers to ensure a decisive victory and achieve a two-thirds majority in the upcoming polls. The BJP, however, dismissed the TMC's claims, stating that Banerjee is merely trying to boost morale among party workers.
Adhikari asserted that 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' was unnecessary and questioned the need for the Minority Morcha within the party.
The Election Commission has advised the West Bengal Governor to call off his proposed tour of Cooch Behar on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls' first phase as it was violative of the Model Code of Conduct, sources said on Wednesday.
Polling for the 144-seat Kolkata Municipal Corporation is underway amid tight security arrangements.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has been accorded 'Z' category VIP security cover by the Union government following an attack on her. The CRPF has taken charge of her security, providing round-the-clock protection.
The West Bengal State Election Commission on Sunday postponed counting of votes in the election to Bidhannagar and Asansol municipal corporations following allegations of large-scale violence, even as opposition parties demanded fresh elections.
The 61-year-old feisty leader, who had single-handedly wrecked the red bastion in West Bengal in 2011, was unfazed by the Left-Congress alliance ahead of the assembly polls.
As electoral sails shift in the dynamic political winds of West Bengal, two factors may still change the electoral equations are how the BJP fares this time and how Muslims are going to vote. Mayank Mishra reports.
An MP from Baharampur since 1999 and the reigning Pradesh Congress president of West Bengal, this was perhaps Chowdhury's toughest electoral challenge which came in the form Pathan, the non-resident TMC candidate.
The victim, in her written complaint to the police, alleged that the security guard did not help her.
'In times of adversity, families unite, but the reverse is happening in the Lalu family.'
'The Bengali middle class, who never fully embraced Mamata Banerjee's policies, are now expressing their deep-seated frustration by spilling out on to the streets.'
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee accuses the BJP of being 'Bangla-Birodhi' (anti-Bengal) and alleges they want to send Bengalis to detention camps. He vowed to electorally wipe out the BJP in the 2026 Bengal Assembly polls.
Addressing an Eid prayers programme on Red Road in Kolkata, the Trinamool Congress supremo claimed, "Provocations are being made to fuel riots, but please don't fall into these traps. The West Bengal government stands with the minorities. No one can provoke tensions in the state."
'Your last visit to Manipur? January 2022 for elections! Your 'Double Engine' has bulldozed the innocent lives of Manipur. You and Home Minister Amit Shah's gross incompetence and complicity in betraying all communities was shielded from scrutiny, by imposing President's Rule in the state. Violence still continues'
Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Adbul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa were traced to their hideout near Kolkata and apprehended by an NIA team, they said.
'There is no provision for a specific salary for the vice president; instead, they receive remuneration and benefits commensurate with their role as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.'
Trinamool Congress sources on Wednesday claimed the Congress delayed the talks and made unreasonable demands on seat-sharing without acknowledging the ground reality.
In a major boost to the party ahead of next year's Assembly polls, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday scored a landslide victory in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation bagging 114 of the 144 wards, and also won 69 of the 91 civic bodies in districts across West Bengal.
In the aftermath of the violence, the police had arrested over 300 suspected miscreants in connection with over 60 FIRs which were lodged at various police stations in Murshidabad.
Unidentified assailants hurled bombs and opened fire outside the residence of BJP leader and former MP Arjun Singh in Bhatpara, West Bengal, injuring a youth. Singh alleged that Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillor Sunita Singh's son, Namit Singh, was behind the attack. Police are investigating the incident and have deployed security forces in the area.
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